Angelic Blackbirds Redone
by Ryunimate
Summary: She was the only one cut out to be L's successor. She was far more aggressive than Near, like Mello, but she was, by far, the most intelligent - even more so than Near - though she would never be one to out-do the kid. MelloxOC Redone Version
1. Silver London

Authors Note: Hello! This is Eru en grey [Aka Alice Liath] back from a 2 year break! I had totally forgotten about my stories (and, unfortunately, Death Note). However, this past month, I've rediscovered the wonderful world of L, and have decided to take up my stories once again! If you've seen, my original "Angelic Blackbirds" is marked as finished. After reading it over, I found that it was, in reality, an immense let down. My english was horrible and Koree was horribly portrayed. Here, I have begun my redone version of "Angelic Blackbirds," which will, hopefully go on longer than 5 chapters.

Accordingly, I will soon redo "Merciless Cult." However, the death of L depressed me to the point of finding this story more attractive.

Please enjoy. :)

~~LaLa-chan

_

* * *

_

_Mello stalked down the hallway towards his room. _How fucking **dare **Roger think I'll work with Near…No, I'm going to do better than Near…

_Near..._

_Fucking Near. Always, _always_, with that puzzle. That sound of subtle superiority both he and Mello knew would be forever present. _

_But no more. _I've had e-fucking-nough with this house - all the goddamned tests, the stupid competition to be a successor... The only one really cut out for all the bullshit is...

_He came to an abrupt halt as his thoughts were manifested by a girl in the way. Koree stood staring at him, an amused look in her eyes. She had a small grin on her lips and her arms were crossed. She looked several years older, suddenly._

_"Hi Mello… So I heard that Roger wants you and Near to work together huh?" she asked casually, sliding her thumbnail under the nailpolish of her index finger._

_"Uh yeah…" Mello replied quickly, looking away, grimacing. __**She**__ was the only one cut out to be L's successor. She was far more aggressive than Near, like Mello, but she was, by far, the most intelligent - even more so than Near - though she would never be one to out-do the kid. "Who the hell told you?"_

_"Rumor," she shot, and returned to staring questioningly at Mello, her nails paused. "Where do you think you're going, then? Going off to find knowledge and riches in the Americas or something?" Mello ignored her, considering whether or not to shove his way past or not. "Believe me, they aren't quite as well off as the television would have you believe."_

How would you know? _"I dunno." He pushed past her and went to his room where he began grabbing anything in arm's reach, dropping everything into a bag he'd stolen last week._

_"Really… well I'm coming," she informed him, leaning against his door frame. _

_"What?" He scoffed. " No you're not. What the hell gave you that idea?" Mello spat._

_"How much money do you have? How long do you plan on being gone? In that time, aren't you going to need to eat, by clothes, and maybe live somewhere?" she asked, grinning at him._

_"What -do you have money?" Mello attempted to sound disinterested, but he couldn't help the look of surprise._

_"Yes, yes I do."_

_Mello paused and watched her for a few moments, before sighing; "Fine, you can come… But you're not the leader here, got it?"_

_"Sure, okay…" she began walking out the door, but added, "but neither are you."_

_

* * *

  
_

"Jesus, that's gross, Mello…" I muttered. Mello was carrying a cardboard box carefully. Inside, I knew, was the head of a mafia boss.

"Whatever- s'long as we get people to work behind me."

_Behind you._ I nodded, chewing the inside of my cheek. _Behind me, rather._

"What?" Mello asked - was I making a face or something?

"Nothing it's just… that's really fuckin' gross," I repeated. "Look, it'll be dripping soon. You didn't even have the decency to put it in a damned bag or anything."

"God, you're such a girl, Kore," he murmured, shaking his head.

"No wonder Near beat you. I _am_ a girl, smartass." I hoped that he hadn't heard.

"Just shut up and some on." I raised my eyebrows and sighed before following obediently. The boy seemed to think he'd been better off had I not followed him out of Wammy's house a couple years ago. You know - not that my small fuckin' fortune had helped or anything.

"So what, exactly, do you plan to do once you get these mafia people to work with you?"

"We're going to catch Kira…" he told me for the umpteenth-fucking-time.

"Yes, yes - I've heard- but what are you going to do _immediately_ after?"

"I dunno… probably… something…"

I paused. "What, like chase some kittens?"

"Fuck - I don't know! Christ, Kore…"

"What?! It's not as if you've actually been planning this out very well, it seems, lately." I defended. "It's just that I like to know what is going to happen. I need to know if I'll have time to," I hesitated, "play some Mario or something. Maybe I'll need to do my hair."

"Fine… I guess we're going to shake hands and go to some hotel," he replied irritably.

"Oh, which hotel?" I asked excitedly. "I love hotels. Can we go to a nice one, though - I really hate those motel things. Those places with cheap signs usually mirror the fucking sign."

"I don't know, Kore," he growled.

I rolled my eyes, turning my head. "Fine…"

* * *

I stood beside Mello – in his very black, and very fluffy long jacket – in a shit room full of large men, all standing around a very frightened-looking man tied to a chair. I sat down on the metal stairs, Mello walking past as they all began talking about the Japanese Police. The entire time the man – named Takimura - kept hunched over horribly, his head nearly to his knees.

"So the Japanese police are so afraid of Kira that the only ones actually working with L are Soichiro Yagami, Kanzo Mogi, and Touta Matsuda… That right?" the freakish one (should that be any indication) asked.

"Yeah…" Takimura answered painfully, "and there was a guy named Ukita but he died a while back."

Ukita… sounds like a type of fruit. I remember his name.

"What's with the Japanese police?" another guy laughed in reply to what was said without my paying attention.

I returned up the stairs, seemingly unnoticed by the group, to retrieve a small black felt bag from my backpack. Inside, there was a small silver necklace I'd made last night - braiding strands of silver and hanging a small marble cross in the middle. These were made for those I thought would die.

As I was walking back to where Takimura was, Mello and his pawns walked by, and I received merely a nod of recognition from Mello. It was the most he'd give me around these men - dignity and all that.

I was still wiping clean fingerprints left on the necklace when I stood before Takimura. There were two men besides him in the room, but they weren't paying any attention. Instead, they went to playing 'Bullshit!' and blasting some crap band through their small stereo.

"H-have you come to k-kill me?" he asked softly, his voice hoarse.

"No, no… why would you think that?" I answered in Japanese. Hopefully, the men in the room wouldn't understand. Takimura understood and we began a soft conversation.

"Well you were with those men, and you all have already gotten all the information from me that I have- what use am I now?"

"That's a pretty dark way of thinking about your situation… but no, I'm not here to kill you, Takimura-san. I'm merely here to help you."

He looked at me hopefully, and I really did feel hurt inside. "Only in spirit, though, I'm afraid, sir…"

"Oh…" he murmered, almost heartbroken, it seemed.

I held the small black bag up and he stared at it as if it were some kind of poison… I untied his hands and let him stretch them a bit before holding the bag open for him to pull out the necklace. None of my DNA was allowed on the necklace - so I had constantly cleaned my fingerprints from it before handing it to him. He held the small cross and then looked at me quizzically.

"It's to keep you safe… should you die at any time in the near future. I was taught that those who keep something innocently crafted with them at death, they'll be kept save after death," I told him thoughtfully.

"How beautiful - you're very different than the men around here... Are you going to kill me?" he asked quietly.

"Not that I know of, no. I don't think Mello-kun has any reason to… Please know that Mello-kun isn't bad, really. Just the men around here. They've not been civil towards you, have they?" I asked sadly.

"Not completely, no."

"I'm very sorry. Have some food, please?" I asked, offering him a sandwich and water bottle I'd bought before the interrogation had started.

"Thank you- you're an angel in this hell of a world," he said as truthfully as I think he could've – would've – been.

"That's my purpose, Takimura-san. Please live well once you're released."

He paused as he ate. "How well can I live with Kira on the loose and the criminals still alive making the best of it? No one's really safe…"

"No… I guess you're right, sir, but…" I went behind him and politely asked for his wrists so that I could tie him back up. "Sorry, but if I don't, they could suspect something and nothing good would follow."

"Please… don't… I want to… die..."

"Sorry?" I asked, obviously confused. "Why…? You wouldn't-"

"I do. Please…"

Kira... it had to be. A man so high in his world would never wish his life away without true reason - besides, we would release him. I wouldn't let Mello kill him. He should be well aware of this...

What would come of him should I ignore his request? Probably a much more painful death would happen - such as provoking Mello's minions or smashing his neck against the chair...

"Yes, sir… but please refrain until I'm completely gone. Say about… 10 minutes so that I won't get in trouble?"

"Okay…" he said, and actually thanked me. He had no reason to want me to get in trouble- he'd called me an Angel… so….

"But I have to make it look like you're still tied up, okay?"

"Of course."

"I hope wherever you go is a good place," I wished him, and walked away- back up the stairs- back to Mello and his pawns - hoping that Takimura didn't really die… Hoping Kira truly had no play in this.


	2. Tan Nevada

Author's Note: Good day! :) It only took a few weeks, but I've finally decided to really do this stuff! This is the second redo today! It's not too much different from the original, but I've fixed some things that have been bugging me. Soon, the story (as in the plot) may change, whether significantly or slightly. However, for now, I'm content with where this is going. :)

Please enjoy.

~~LaLa-chan

* * *

Apparently, Mello's decided to kidnap a new person - a girl by the name of Yagami Sayu. How in the world he kidnapped the poor girl in Yokohama and brought her all the way back to LA without raising suspicion is really beyond me, but he did.

We were currently is some dreadfully hot place in California, and I was lying on the couch with my head on Mello's lap. He was eating some very good-looking chocolate and watching some stupid TV show. I believe it was about some gangsters that got in trouble with the 'fedz' - as they referred so lamely to the police. He really didn't seem in to it, instead choosing to stare blankly at the screen in a way that suggested the characters couldn't distract his thoughts.

No one really found it odd that he let me lay on top of him if I felt like it; but no one thought it was normal, either. I could tell they stared often and I'd overheard them saying how weird it was for Mello to keep the company of a girl that wasn't his _bitch_. I mean, he _did _bring the head of a well-known boss back in a box.

Apparently, Mello would soon begin talking into a headset he had with him to Yagami Soichiro, and he would then get the Death Note and we'd all have a huge fiesta and hit a big piñata with one of the members of this stupid mafia. Though, it now seemed more like a boys' club right now. No one seemed to be taking me seriously. I think the only reason no one's raised hell about my being here is because I'm useful to Mello and I had threatened each of the men to a very reasonable extent at one point in time. It's as if they had some big sign on the front door – which, by the way, was hidden in the ground above- that read in big, backwards letters "NO GIRLS ALLOWED."

Or they were scared of me…

Everytime they saw a black bag in my hands, they found the recipient dead - though, not from my hands.

Since none of the mafia men were in the room currently, I stole Mello's chocolate and bit off my own heavenly piece before I hesitantly handed it back to him. He'd stopped caring about my kleptomania that manifested itself in my stealing his chocolate every possible moment. There was one time, however, when I'd taken it and slicked-

Mello turned off the television and I sighed inwardly as he began to talk to Yagami through the headset.

"Yagami, you're the only one who can hear my voice. Listen carefully… I'm the main culprit for your daughter's kidnapping. I'm not even remotely interested in taking your, or your daughter's, life. Right now, the only thing I want is the notebook."

Now a few guys entered the room very quietly and sat around listening to Mello's one-sided conversation.

"If you do exactly as I tell you, I won't kill either of you. I've prepared-"

_I_ prepared...

"- a method of exchange that I think you'll find acceptable and will be able to follow without any problems."

"Just don't attempt to oppose me."

He was silent for a few moments, and I felt oddly restless.

"Mello?"

"Shh, Koree," he said.

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed the chocolate he had again. I turned onto my back and watched him talk. Soon the lair began softly shaking and the vibration grew until we heard a screeching noise.

Seconds later, I heard the "front door" open.

Mello spoke again; "See that door? Enter through here."

The guy at the front (wearing fetish gear, I think) began instructing Yagami on how to get his daughter from behind the bullet-proof glass, but I couldn't hear. Mello stole back his chocolate and bit off some almost smugly. Then he spoke into a microphone to the man; "Y462, begin."

My eyes wandered the room until they landed on the one I learned to be "Miller". I watched carefully before he clutched his heart and fell to the ground loudly. I couldn't hide my lopsided grin.

"This is what happens when you try and make money from drugs that belong to the mafia…" Ross, the weird bearded one, said coldly as others rushed beside Miller. "He's finally been of some use to us." He then continued; "Y462, he's dead."

Mello took off another bite and I pouted. I wanted more… I glanced around the room, ignoring the small group around Miller's body, and stood up, walking across the whole fucking room, and stole a whole bar of Mello's candy. Then I grinned evilly. Bwahaha...

Suddenly that damn rumbling came again, and I knew it was that stupid missile. I jumped onto the couch, and stuck my tongue out at Mello, who looked at my and my chocolate like I was some… chocolate molester...

"Where's the missile going to hit, again?"

"You'll see," he said.

I sighed and sat up. Someone's voice came in on the speaker whatever we had on the table, and the man sounded… very pleased…

"Boss, I'm sure you're watching, but it's all gone according to plan!"

We were all watching him on a laptop and everyone but I was grinning.

"Yeah, well done," Ross said.

"This'll wipe out all my past failures, right?" He sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, it'll all be wiped out," Ross muttered. Then he said; "Do it."

Something was typed into the computer, and the screen went blank. The helicopter had exploded. I stared at the screen in near shock, but I'd kind of expected it after all this time. I glanced at Mello, who just smirked at the computer.

* * *

"Koree," Mello said. "Where are those names?"

"Oh… um, here…" I handed him a list of names- a list of the names of SPK members. The list was then given to someone else, who wrote them all down.

"Try making some people die of something other than a heartattack," Mello told him, grinning; "like suicide and such."

"Sure, ok," the guy said happily, and went off to do his dirty deed.

The SPK is where Near is… I wonder how this'll affect him… all these people just… dying. Poor kid- especially since there's going to be a suicide. Most likely shooting themselves, I'm guessing. I avoided, of course, giving the names of Near, Lidner, Gevanni, and Rester... They all had their importance - and Near was like a very distant brother to me. I could never supply them his true name.

I stood and started to walk out of the room.

"Where you going to, Kore?" Mello asked casually.

"Need some air, s'all."

"We're leaving soon. Don't be long," he told me as I left.

"Of course…." I wondered where we were even going to go, but put the thought aside and began thinking about this Yagami guy. Yagami Soichiro… I bet we ruined his life… his poor daughter has to be in a wheelchair for a few reasons, and she's probably more than a bit traumatized. And what about his son- Yagami Light, I believe? I'd had to learn a bit about them so that I could show who we should kidnap.

* * *

At our new 'lair', I guess you could call it that, it wasn't very different. Mello still sat on the couch and I sat against him, stealing his chocolate every now and then. The guy we called 'Jack Neylon' was over at the computer. He'd written something to someone or something like that a while ago, and was now doing Kira-knows-what… probably… porn…

Mello was looking at the 'Death Note' and, from what I could tell, thinking.

"Now, all that remains is to test the extent to which we can manipulate people with this notebook."

It was quite for a second – apart from the giggling of the whores sitting on either side of Ross – and something weird happened…

The book was taken from Mello's hand – one hand, because the other held chocolate that I had originally taken – and stopped in middair above us. I reached up and held it for a second, but it was taken from my grasp and put even higher – and I was _not_ getting up off the motherfucking couch. It went sort of to the side and landed on Jack Neylon's head. I began laughing at the way he looked as it landed.

"What the fuck? The notebook just jumped of its own accord…"

"And then it took itself from me," I said, sulking slightly.

Ross chuckled; "It's a notebook that can kill people. It'd hardly be surprising if it turned out to be alive." It was sort of a sick possibility. Suddenly there was screaming- which made me laugh even harder, yes. "B-boss!! The guy in the weird, dirty costume… is he a new recruit!?"

Yes, yes – it's the newest trend from FRANCE: to be in some dirty… weird… wait, who the hell is he talking about?

He was quiet for a moment- only a moment- and then stuttered out another sentence: "Shinigami?" Well if you could call that a sentence… anyway, then he began laughing this dry, insane sort of laugh. "A-apparently if you touch the notebook, you'll be able to see it. Everyone! I need you to touch the notebook!"

"Give me that!" I demanded childishly, and grabbed the Death Note. I turned a bit and saw the shinigami. He was kinda cute… in a scary, mummy-ish way… Mello took it from me, and soon everyone touched it... not that that sounds awkward or anything...

"What the hell?!"

"I never saw anything the previous time I touched it!"

"Boss! Should we kill it?!"

I sat calmly, studying the god of death. Suddenly, everyone but Mello and I had a gun, and was shooting away at the forsaken creature, who stood unharmed after the smoke cleared.

"Oh, look what you've done to the damn wall," I muttered angrily.

"It's no use. Humans can't kill me." I touched my thumb to my lip and grinned curiously - a habit I'd picked up a couple years ago.

"Looks like this Death God really does exist and is telling the truth," Ross murmered.

I took the Death Note back, and began skimming the rules written on the inside covers.

"These rules look… different. It looks as if these rules," I turned to the front cover, "are a lot older. Or, at least, were written at a later time. The white of the ink - or whatever it was writen with - is less brilliant than," I turned to the back again, "these."

"They aren't real," the shinigami told me, reading the rules over my shoulder.

"Oh really?" I asked. "I could've thought as much. Doesn't seem much use if it practically binds you to it. I mean, makes it stupid to use, really."

"Yes, well why didn't you say anything?" Y-number-number-number asked. I could see Mello giving me an impertinent look.

"Here, Mr. Shinigami, have some chocolate," I said politely (ignoring Y-number-number-number), handing him another chocolate bar I'd taken.

"How the hell do you keep getting those?" Mello growled.

"My name is Shidou, and thank you," the Shinigami told me, both of us ignoring Mello.

"This 'chocolate' stuff's really good!" Shidou said happily as he began to eat. He ate like an ant I'd once seen… or a spider. His teeth, or what looked like teeth, seemed to be on the outside of his face. I didn't know whether this was cute – the way he ate like Pikachu – or creepy – the way he also ate like a tarantula.

"Hey, what you just said, is it really true? 'If, after writing a name in the notebook, you don't write another name within 13 days, you'll die,' and, 'If this notebook is name unusable via shredding, burning, and so forth, all those who have touched the notebook will die.' are really fake?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, they're completely false. A Death God probably wrote that as a joke before giving it to a human."

"Or possibly for a useful purpose," I murmured. Mello seemed to be thinking about it, and I decided to speak again. "Could be used to prove false innocence, eh, Mello?"

"Yes… it could…" Mello answered thoughtfully before looking at the shinigami. "Shidou! Keep watch outside." Shidou looked at him. "You'll be useful as humans won't be able to see you. Keep watch outside, got it?"

The shinigami looked somewhat indignant. "Here, Mr. Shinigami. Have some more chocolate. Sorry about Mello - he an acquired taste." Shidou and I bowed to each other before he left.

Guess that means I'll have to stay in here with these smelly men and … God it's boring here.

"Oh please let me go outside too."

"No, Koree; you'll be seen…"

I let out a noise between a sigh and a growl and pushed myself to roll of the couch. I hit the floor and glanced at the clock. 11: 47… Kira knows what day.

"Mello, I seriously… am bored… can I… watch TV… or something?" I asked painfully, trying to get up, deterred by Mello evilly resting his feet on my back. Well, more like crushing me to the floor.

"Nah, I'm comfortable."

"Fuck you, number two," I muttered and fell back to the floor. Hah! See you be so relaxed when you're footrest is level with the floor!

"Ah, you weren't a very soft stool anyway."

I pretended to cry and rolled under the table.

"Oh _god_- who's been putting their gum under here!?" Fucking barbarians.

* * *

"Mello…"

"What…"

I turned my head and spoke again. "Mello…" I touched my thumb to my lower lip again, re-adjusting myself to sit cross-legged.

"What, Koree…"

"… Mello…"

"Jesus…_ What_, Koree?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but looked down, defeated. "… I forgot…"

"That's great…"

"I know…"

Mello seemed to consider something before hesitantly speaking; "Koree, you know-"

He stopped and looked up. The second hand on my watch had just hit midnight…

Ross and most of the others began screaming and gasping- rolling around on the floor…

I smiled, turning my head further. _Kira..._


	3. Azure Tokyo

Author's Note: That's right! Three chapters in one day! And I've even made sure all are over 2,000 words! The main additions to this chapter are percentages I figured... yay for me... and a more detailed experience of what happens to Koree.

Please enjoy.

**Footnotes**: ¹ Percentages are the estimated percentage of understood information and knowledge known by an individual

* * *

Mello and I had always had an odd relationship. Mello acted superior in public (public being when any other humans around), but he knew that he needed me to be there. I admit, I know more than Mello. To compare us, Near knows about 100-(79% x 30% x 96% x 13% x 40%)... 98.816896% of what I do, while Mello knows about 100-(83% x 40% x 98% x 21% x 56%)... 96.173766% of what I do. According to Wammy's House, of course.¹ However, I would never admit to this. Neither would L.

I kept Mello alive, and he kept us moving forward- forward towards beating Near, to finding Kira, and... _winning_.

I would help Mello achieve dominance over Near no matter what… and I needed to keep him alive, even if I had to do things I didn't want to - such as helping kill most of the SPK and letting Near probably become more traumatized than he'd ever let on; such as letting Takimura kill himself; such as taking my emotions and shunning them so that my judgment would stay unclouded…

But this was too much…

As the police broke in, Mello pulled me up and forced me to follow him up the stairs. He yelled for the others – those left alive – to grab the Death Note, but we had to leave them behind as we hid in the moniter room. I pulled out a black bag from my pocket, and began wiping it with a special cloth I'd brought. Mello sat on the bottom part of the huge wall of screens, and we waiting- a guy named Jose waiting in the corner with a gun…

Finally, Yagami Soichiro crept into the unlit room.

Mello pressed a button, and there was a loud explosion. I covered my head, surprised by the sudden noise.

"Don't move. I've sealed off both exits with that one blast," Mello told Yagami. "That was merely a threat... next, I'll blow the whole hideout."

Oh, we're in deep shit now… But I trusted Mello's moves. He'd vaguely informed me of our plan, should the police become involved.

"Follow my orders."

Yagami was told to remove his helmet and all protective gear, and did so obediently. Mello laughed as the lights from the moniters illuminated the place. I kept my head down, face almost parallel to the floor as I stood beside Mello. I could see Yagami's eyes. I felt guilt flow through my body as I regretted not forcing Mello to cover his face. Hopefully, this necklace wouldn't need to be given to him...

"So it's you again, Yagami." Mello grinned. "I should've killed you the first time. I never imagined I'd be doing a deal for the notebook with you again."

Yes, well… I did.

Yagami studied Mello's face closely…

"Your real name is Mihael Keehl…"

Mello's face showed his thoughts and mine: Oh shit.

My thoughts were erratic as I tried to imagine a plan - he knew Mello's name. He probably even had a fucking way of others hearing.

"Give it up, Mello. If you come along quietly we won't kill you."

"You lie," I said softly.

"I do not- but if I write your name in this notebook, you'll die…"

"You'd do that anyway," I grumbled under my breath.

I wanted to look up - I really did - but I knew I couldn't. He had the Eyes. Looking up meant letting the world behind Yagami know my true name.

"Move your hands away from the switch and raise them in the air."

"Yagami…" Mello started, handing me the switch.

"Don't move! All I need to write now is your family name. It'll take less than a second."

"I'm sorry, I honestly never had any intention of killing you."

Mello truly did seem sorry… but would this family man, this father, really kill Mello? Truly, this man understood _why_ I still stood beside Mello; why I didn't simply give up and surrender myself; why I followed the emotionally-driven boy from a safe haven to this wasteland.

A summary of my early thought were voiced by Mello; "Yagami… I bet you've never killed anyone before."

I saw Jose roll sideways and grab the gun.

"No!" I yelled and started forward but Mello grabbed me and kept his hand over my mouth and his arm around my waist to keep me from moving.

Yagami was shot Kira-knows how many times in the back – which, thankfully, was covered by a vest – and fell to his knees… before sinking completely to the ground. I felt unwelcome tears fall onto Mello's gloved hand as I watched. Finally, Mello let go and I ran over to Yagami. Jose was trying to grab the notebook, and even held a gun to him. I pushed it away and kneeled over Yagami. I told him that I really hoped he was going to be alright, for I knew of his wife and daughter and son – but I told him in Japanese, which I hoped Mello still didn't know. I told him I would keep him safe - whether spiritually or physically. I gave him that necklace, which he held as he stared up at me. I kept my eyes hidden behind my own hand to avoid his seeing my name.

"Koree!" Mello ordered, and I stood. He wore the helmet that had been brought in by Yagami, and he hugged me close to him. I hid my face between his jaw and collar, bracing myself. It was merely to protect me from whatever Mello was about to do, but I still like think of it as a hug.

Mello pressed the button and the place exploded.

My nurse uniform hugged to my body closely, and I continuously tugged at it, cursing whoever decided nurses needed to be sexy. I was too used to the oversized clothing Mello always told me I should wear. I stood in the room Yagami, Soichiro was being kept in, and he was surrounded by the other men from the lair's explosion, and his son, Light.

"Father? Father?! I'm begging you! Please don't die!"

Yagami opened his eyes a bit; "Light… I… I'm so happy."

"You're happy, Father?" Light sniffed.

"Light… I still have the eyes of a Death God. According to the Death God, Ryuk, I can't see the lifespan of anyone who owns a Death Note… Light… you aren't Kira."

At this point I'd learned 3 things: 1) there's another Death God on the loose, 2) Yagami Light is being suspected of being Kira… and 3) I hate myself… So _goddamn_ much...

I turned and stood at the doorway, facing the hallway, and tried my best to keep from crying. I cry too much as it is. Mello's told me so before.

I could hear bits of what Yagami Soichiro said; "I couldn't kill him…"

"Father! Use the last of your strength and write that bastard's name down! You want to go down beaten!?" My eyes widened, and I turned, hoping that Yagami would recognize me enough to understand why he _shouldn't_ follow his son's demand.

"Light… before I went completely unconscious… I saw someone…"

My face relaxed and I watched him carefully.

"I think she was an angel… she seemed so… bright… even though all else was dark… she gave me this…." He handed the necklace to Light, who stared at it for a few moments, before looking back at his father. "And she told me she would keep me and my family safe..."

"An… an angel?" one of the other men echoed.

Soichiro began closing his eyes….

"Father!?"

"Light..."

I pulled myself out of the room and stalked down the hall. I needed to get back to Mello, anyway….

Mello lay on the bed, breathing softly. He had recently been trying to get up and go around the hotel room I'd gotten us, but I'd persuaded him to stay down… I'd actually held a knife against him, but I think that's still persuasion without duress.

As I entered, he rolled onto his back, looking at me.

"Hey Mello…" I greeted quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Why is it that you… can go around but… but I… can't?"

"Half my face isn't gone," I answered smugly.

He grimaced, and winced. "Why didn't you get hurt? _I _had the helmet and shit on."

"Mello, stop moving around so much…" I would probably never answer his question.

He stared at me for a second, and sighed softly; "Thank you, Koree."

I stopped taking out the things I'd gotten from a Walgreens down the street, and looked at him…

"You're welcome… but what for?"

He hesitated, and looked up at the ceiling; "Everything… I guess…"

* * *

I stood in front of Near, who was playing with the toy I'd brought.

"Near, I'm not going to turn on Mello."

"I know that."

"Obviously… but I want you to know that I will never choose you over him. It'll always be his safety above… anything else. However, you will always be a priority beneath him."

"I understand," Near said thoughtfully.

"That being said… I will agree to work with you, but should you and he ever need to go against each other, it'll be his side I choose."

"Thank you, Koree-chan," he said.

"I'll see you later then. I need to go check on Mello…"

"Goodbye, Koree-chan."

Mello and I had gotten to Japan a few hours ago, and he was hopefully at the hotel. Only an hour ago, we had met up with Matt…

God, Matt. I'd missed him nearly as much as I'd missed Near.

Matt was supposed to be watching Mogi, and I was supposed to meet up with Mello a little later at the aiport where Mogi and Amane Misa were.

I began to walk out, but Near told me to stop.

"Hide, Koree-chan," he said.

"What…? Why-?" I looked at the moniters and saw Mellow walking down the hall with a gun to Lidner's head.

"Oh crap…." I muttered.

The door opened, and I stood, facing a somewhat surprised Mello and a casual Lidner.

"Koree…?" Mello growled.

My eyes softened, and I cocked my head slightly; "I have nothing to hide, Mello."

He looked away from me and at Near.

"Welcome, Mello," Near said.

"Why is Koree here?" Mello asked.

"She's come to question me. I had assumed that you had sent her - apparently, I was wrong." It was a rare sentence for Near to allow; something seemed shallow about it.

"Throw away your gun," Rester commanded.

"Lower your guns, all of you, not only Mello," Near said. "It's useless to shed blood here."

"B-but Mello killed our fellow… he murdered the Director of NPA," Gevanni replied.

"We don't have any proof of that. The murder of the director is supposed to have been done by Kira. Besides, it doesn't matter. Don't make me repeat many times: our goal is to arrest Kira. And in any case, Koree has already explained to us that Mello is her top priority - it would be a grave loss should she be forced to turn on us."

I moved to walk down the hallway, my throat constricting.

"Near!" I heard Mello yell. I ran back and stood next to him. He'd pulled the gun back on Near, and continued yelling angrily; "I'm no tool for you to solve a puzzle! I'm not some fucking carrier for your information - and neither is Koree."

"Mello…!" I said.

"Stay out of it, Koree," he ordered, deciding not to look at me.

The SPK men raised their guns again, but Near intervened; "Please stop making me repeat myself. Please lower your guns… Mello… you can shoot me if you want. My only true purpose, currently, is to finish Kira's case; I believe we are both well aware of Koree's complete qualification for taking my place."

I saw his finger about to move. I grabbed his wrist and moved his arm, and...

_**FUCK.**_

My fingers twitched and I clamped my jaw so tight, the sides of my head ached; however, this was no comparison to the explosion of pain in my shoulder. My skin felt as if it were set aflame, and my hand slapped wetly to where it burned. I could feel the muscle beneath my fingers as blood spread from beneath my fingers, seeping out from between them.

Rester and Gevanni went for Mello, but found that I was holding his gun real tight to my chest… and I found myself on the floor on my back. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn, was the only thing in my head right now. I felt seasick suddenly, and felt an unfamiliar taste overwhelm my mouth. My lips parted and I coughed hard, feeling the liquid drip down from the corners of my mouth, flooding onto the floor.

Near had even turned to look. But I knew that it was my fault Mello shot. He wasn't expecting me to grab his wrist, and he wasn't going to shoot Near. He couldn't.

Everyone moved in slow motion; Mello's mouth opened slowly, his eyes widening at the same speed; Lidner stepped back and Rester ran to protect Near.

Near closed his eyes, the time creeping by dramatically.

"Kore! Kore?! Koree??"


	4. Red New York

Author's Note: Yes! Four chapters! In this chapter, a lot of foreshadowing will happen and you may notice subtle sentences that make absolutely no sense. Fear not! This will be resolved in future chapters in which Koree's world... will make sense. :)

Especially when she talks to Mogi. PAY LOTS OF ATTENTION TO THAT. :D

~~LaLa-chan

* * *

Koree's eyes widened and her and slapped wetly against her bloody shoulder. She stumbled back a bit and fell onto the ground. Everyone, even Near, turned and stared first at Kore, then at me. I looked at my gun… but…I wasn't holding it. Koree held it. I looked up at Near, who's eyes now went to something above me.

I turned and there stood a man in his 30s, probably, holding a gun pointed straight at Near. I looked back at Koree, but now Lidner and Gevanni were at her side, both trying to tourniquet the blood flow from her shoulder with gauze and fabric from their first aid. Koree weakly shoved the gun across the floor and I turned it onto the man, but just as I was about to shoot, he fell, screaming. Rester had gotten him before me. I put away the gun and got beside Koree as the ambulance was called. She blinked a few times, squinting as she tried not to completely shut her eyes.

"Kore! Kore?! Koree??" I tried not to show my urgency, but she kept turning whiter and her eyes looked blanker every second.

"Damn damn damn damn," she cussed under her breath- which was probably the loudest she could talk.

"Shit… don't close your eyes, Koree," I muttered, pressing the tourniquet – which kept falling apart – against the wound, but tried not to hit the bullet.

I walked up the stairs near the wall to where the man had been, and pushed past Rester, planting my foot on the man's throat and my gun to his forehead. "I swear to God I'm gonna fucking kill you and set your flesh on fire." The gun cocked against his head, and he stared at me wildly.

"No…! Don't hurt me! I was sent for Kira! You can't kill me!"

"I can and I fucking will!"

"No! No you can't!" he said almost teasingly.

"Wha-"

"Mello!"

I started to turn but was stopped by another Kira follower. I slammed the gun's barrel against his face, and he fell sideways, over the banister. Koree stood before me, and I realized she'd pushed the man. She shook her head, and swayed a bit; "Jesus; I can't be shot and down for… 2 minutes without you getting yourself into trouble…" A small smile graced her pained face. I felt a tightening in my chest as I realized the pain I'd caused her. Had I not come, she wouldn't have been distracted by me...

The guy who'd shot Kore was being restrained by Rester. "Stupid douche bag," Koree muttered. She lay her good arm around my shoulders and I helped her stand properly. She explained softly - almost as if she was sorry - that she was dizzy. I couldn't help but smile at her stating the obvious.

"I believe _this_ is what you came here for, Mello?" Near pulled a picture from his pocket and I took it from him, shoving it into my pocket.

"I guess you should tighten security... By the way, I couldn't leave here without giving you something, Near…"

"The murder notebook: it's a shinigami's notebook, and people who touch it are able to see the shinigami."

"I-impossible," Rester said behind me.

"Who's going to believe that? A shinigami?" Gevanni added.

"I believe him- and besides, Koree had said something like that before Mello came. And what advantage is there for Mello in coming up with such a stupid story about a shinigami really existing? If he were telling me a lie, he would tell me a normal – more meaningful – lie. Therefore, the shinigami exists."

"The notebook I had belonged to a shinigami named Sidoh, who dropped it in the human world. He had to come down to get it back. But another shinigami had it before."

"We know that because there were rules written in English inside the notebook for human use, right? It would be odd for a shinigami to write rules down for humans to use when he wants to get it back."

I turned to leave with Koree – whose head lay limply on my shoulder – but stopped; "And one more thing: there is a fake rule hidden amongst the rules written in the notebook. That's all the information I can give you…"

* * *

Oh…oh god, what the hell…? I looked around a new hotel room. My shoulder throbbed dully, and my entire arm was asleep and tingled.

"Kore…? You awake, or are you just moving around again?" Mello's voice asked behind me.

"Both…"

"Damn- you've been asleep for so long."

"Well… I woke up a few times, I remember, but not for very long… Sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize…"

I stretched, but stopped and yelped. "Oh damn…! That… that hurt…"

"Wow… of course it did, smartass." Mello smirked; "You were shot."

"Oh yeah… It wasn't you who shot me, was it… It was that Kira follower… Right..?"

"Yeah… But that other dumbass you pushed over the banister stopped me from shooting the first guy."

"Oh yeah… I was kind of… you know… out of it…."

Mello was sitting back in his chair with some chocolate he stole from me, and now he was on his phone…

Mogi looked at his phone as it beeped loudly; RESTRICTED NUMBER

Everyone in the room looked at him. Light turned and told them, " We'll use the cell-phone sharing system. If it's Mello I want you to do everything he says… We'll help you, and capture Mello, whatever it takes.

"Are you Mogi?" Mello's voice asked through the phone.

"There's no mistake. It's Mello's voice," Aizawa said.

"Are you alone?"

"No," Mogi answered.

Mello was silent for a moment; "Then there's somebody right near you?"

"No," Mogi repeated.

"Then this conversation is not beaing overheard?" Mello gave Mogi no time to answer, and continued, "I want you to just keep answering so that the others around you will not realize who you're talking to.

"Mogi, why don't you come to New York to see me?" Mogi was silent at Mello's request.

"I won't tell you anything else, not unless you come to a place I specify. No cameras or wires, and make sure you bring extra cell phone batteries. I want you to tell me right now if you're coming or not. I can't let you hang up to think about it, since you could come up with a plan with the people around you."

From the backround, a voice – a female voice, they thought – yelled out, "_Mello_!!" in the same voice Misa spoke to Light in.

"Dammit," they heard Mello mutter.

"_Mello_!! Damn you! Don't- dammit! Augh!" She then began screaming in Japanese: "It's such a damn bother to be walking around here – blood on the damn ground – having to figure out how-"

"My apologies," Mello continued.

"Who was that?" Mogi asked.

"I don't know- a captive or something," Mello grumbled quickly. "Anyway… if you come you'll need to stay on the line with me at all times. The only time you can turn your cell phone off is when you get on the airplane. I'll call you again once you land."

_Who was that?_ Light thought. Mello doesn't have any captives – or no reason to – right now, does he?

"Okay, where do I need to go?" Mogi asked.

"Good. I want you to come to the exit of the Nick St. Station in New York as fast as you can.

* * *

"_Mello!_" I yelled. "Damn you! Don't- dammit! Augh!" I then began screaming in Japanese: "It's such a damn bother to be walking around here – blood on the damn ground – having to figure out how-" Mello put his gloved hand over my mouth and held me against him. It's such a damn bother to be walking around here, blood on the damn ground, having to figure out how the hell we're supposed to catch Kira when you don't _**TELL ME THINGS!**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

We stood in the ugly old place for god-knows-how-long, waiting for this guy "Mogi" to come… from Japan. I was supposed to still be in a hospital, but I ditched it almost immediately after I woke up when they'd removed the bullet… well I think I'd been kidnapped by Mello, but I'd have left anyway.

"Let me hold the phone," I whispered.

"No… _God_ no," Mello answered.

"Give me the phone and go to the bathroom or something."

Mello stared at me as I begged, and sighed softly before handing the cell to me and leaving the room.

I was silent for a moment, then decided to speak to 'Mogi'; "Hello."

"Uh… hello…."

"… You're Mogi, right?"

"Yes… and who are you?

"Who am I… _Who am I_?" I paused before continuing. "I… let's consider this for a moment… I guess I'm Angel- or at least, that's what the Deputy Director called me before he… you know… Well, then again, I could be called a Death Angel. Something of a minor shinigami, eh?"

"How do you- you're…?"

"I am what?"

"Who are you?" he repeated, frustrated.

"I said: I'm Angel." They said nothing. "This is boring… so who's listening in on this? L, by any chance?" I decided not to let him answer; "Hello L! It's so nice to meet the fake L! You know, the real L thinks that you are Kira, L Number Two. Do you know what this means? N will be informed soon, you know. You won't get away with this, Kira. Do you have any idea how annoying it is when you use the Death Note so goddamned much, Kira?"

"Why would you think-" Mogi stopped himself, and thought about what he was saying "- why would you think anyone's listening in on this call? Especially Kira."

"Well it's gone on so long I'm surprised that the- Oh! Mello's back! Here you go, Kun," I said happily, handing the phone to Mello, who'd just returned from wherever he'd gone.

This was going to be a long conversation in which I would take no part...

* * *

_"Wow… it's really nice up here… I'm surprised we haven't fallen yet."_

_"Yeah… kind of cold, though," Mello answered, not looking away from the view of the city. We were on top of some dealership or something, hanging our legs off the side of the roof, watching the city go to sleep. It was windy, and my hair kept blowing into my face – mostly my eyes and into my mouth, maybe tickling my nose a bit – and Mello's was blowing up and all around._

_"Just put your hair behind your ears, would you?" Mello asked after a while of my spluttering at my hair._

_"No!"_

_"Dammit, Koree, you're gonna fall off."_

_I stuck my tongue out him and stuck my hands at either side of my head. "Oh crap!" I yelled as I started to fall off. Mello fell backwards off of the upraised part of the roof, grabbed my arms and pulled me back as well. I landed painfully on him, and started laughing. "Woah, damn!"_

_"JesuschristIhateyouKoree," Mello said in a breath._

_"Oh, I love you too, Kun. I just can't resist laying on you," I said seriously. He pushed me off and I began laughing hysterically. Between , outbursts I gasped, "Mello!... I…I'm sorry! ... but you… you know it's true!"_

_"Oh god, grow up, Koree," he muttered, sitting and, again, staring at the city – this time from behind the upraised part of the wall._

_I was silent for a second, studying his face; "What's wrong, Kun?"_

_He ignored me._

_"Mello, what's wrong? We've only just left Wammy's – only been about 3 days – and you've been acting strangely the whole time."_

_"Yeah? What of it?"_

_"What of it? You've been much to quiet... and nice – that's what of it."_

_He glanced at me, then back at the lights; "I don't know. It's just… how are we going to catch Kira? I mean… Near's going to get the money, the backup, the help, and the resources, and we're just out here hoping to catch a bite."_

_"Hoping to catch a bite in a shallow pool? Mello, believe me. Kira will pay." Mello watched me carefully before looking back out at the city, its lights sparkling._


	5. Blue England

Author's Note: What's that? Another chapter?! All five chapters redone in one day!? That's right! And this one even includes **_NEW STUFF_!**

**After this chapter, all content will be _new_! Yay! And, unfortunately, yet fortunately, we can say goodbye to the original Angelic Blackbirds.**

**Thank you to Love667, who posted the first and only review of my original Angelic Blackbirds. :) It was the motivation to continue this story.**

**"I love that story!  
I was soo afraid for Koree, i was totally glued to my screen while reading your story. I just love it!  
Please, please please continue it! i want to know what is going to happenend to your super character!"**

**3**

**~~LaLa-chan**

**

* * *

  
**

There was a time at Wammy's House when a dog ran in and everyone wanted to take care of it. It took until the owners were really found that it had been a test – but it took until the 'winner' to come back from whatever they (who turned out to be Koree) had won to find out that the 'prize' was working under L for a short period of time. Sure, finding the owners of some dog that just wanders up into your lawn doesn't seem like much, but we were told that it had a multitude of meanings as a test. Such as:

Finding the owners with few clues (not even signs up about the dog's being missing)

Giving up something you really love or want (the dog) to find where it really belongs

Blah blah blah something else (I really wasn't paying all that much attention…)

Anyway, Koree and I were about… 11 and 12 then. When Koree came back from working under L (it turned out to be a serial kidnapping case, which was the point of the dog1), she acting a whole lot different. Some of the kids told each other that she'd actually met L – the real one, not the computer screen with a face. When I actually asked her if she'd seen him, she told me, "What I saw was intense," and said nothing more on the subject.

A few years later, after we'd left Wammy's, she finally told me what she'd done when she was gone. She said that she had, in fact, met L personally, and the actual case was this:

In 2001, starting on the day of September 21, and ending November 15, a total of 14 people were reported as having absolutely no memory of anything, but they'd woken up and been convinced that they all lived in the same house, which was in Kyoto, Japan. They'd been discovered when the man, who'd told them that they were all part of some kind of 'Congregation of God' or something like that, left, and they all found their way out of the house and wandered around the Kyoto Prefecture erratically, and, in a way, turned themselves in at random police stations.

In the end, the man was some random crazy-priest from Maryland, USA, and thought he could erase people memories by putting them through the same thing (some crash or something that caused them to lose their memories) and convince them that they were all brothers and sisters ready for Armageddon or some… nonsense like that….

I was pretty pissed off at first that I didn't get to help with that, but it wasn't Near (since he didn't go near the dog, anyway), so it didn't really count for anything…

* * *

There was a time when Koree must've thought her dignity was at stake or something…

"I dare you to say that again," Koree growled. She had cornered a boy named Darryll and had him up against a wall.

"You, and Mello," he said, pausing to create his effect of smart-ass-ness, but was abruptly stopped by Koree's fist. It grazed into his front teeth and smashed his lip. He cried out horribly loud, and Koree yelled over him.

"S'wrong with you? You stupid or something?" she yelled. "Who told you that stupid…?"

"It was Kandin! He told me but he said that Linda told him because she was told by Alec."

She hesitated; "I don't fuckin' believe you. What, exactly, were you told?"

"Alec told Linda who told Kandin, and he told me that when you came back from Japan, you'd become a little girlish, and that you and Mello were… you know… going out…"

"Oh really…? And where'd they get that idea?" she hissed.

"F-from you, I thought," he whispered.

"Little fucker," she muttered before dropping the boy and letting him run off. I saw that Koree had just turned in my direction and decided that her knowing I'd heard wasn't best. I turned and opened the door next to me, running in and shutting it softly. I know that it wasn't like me to hide from a girl – or from anyone, for that matter – but this was Koree we're talking about…

After that, I'd decided never to let her dignity or honor get threatened or insulted – for the sake of the world.

* * *

"Mello!"

"Wha-at?"

"Let go of him, Mello."

I hesitated, but let go of Near. "_Must_ you mess with Near _all_ the time?" Koree nagged.

"_Must_ you _always_ intrude on my messing with Near?"

"If it's alright, I'd rather like to leave now," Near said with a small voice. He was only about 6, and Koree and I were 9 and 8. She always seemed to have this complex with Near that made her attack _me_ when I attacked _him_.

"Right, I'm sorry Near… and so is Mello," Koree hinted towards me as I stood indignantly against the wall I'd had Near up against. "Right, Mello?"

"Psh…."

"Mello," she growled.

"Yeah, whatever. See you later," I muttered, walking away, down the hall and around a corner, just far enough to hear them speak.

"You okay, Near?"

"He didn't do anything," Near said as if she'd been nagging him.

"Mm? Well then, you still having answered, have you."

"Guess not," Near answered, walking away as well. "Thanks…"

* * *

When I was still in Wammy's with Mello and Matt, we used to watch scary movies at night. Usually the boys would watch them with me (since I was secretly afraid of pretty much everything…), but sometimes they did something else… During these (terrible) times, I'd convinced myself that as long as I kept talking to myself, nothing bad would happen. Usually it worked because it wasn't quiet when random things popped up.

I think I'd taken this and began using it in real life. Right now, in fact.

I sat, shuddering, at the end of a long hallway. I shook my head clear of my many hindering thoughts and stepped forward, expecting the ground below me to explode. I was definitely not old enough or mature enough for this stupid shit.

I'd just helped L solve that last case, and now all I was doing was learning from a distance. L had personally sent me to find this woman he'd hired and the detective (who turned out to be the criminal, BB) with whom said woman had been working with. I adjusted the black mask that covered half of my face. Room… 1414? 1313? What floor am I on? Or was it 222? 4… I'm on the fourth floor. 404, he'd been in 404…

"You remember the room number, right?" l asked through the small device in my ear. He hadn't bothered with disguising his voice, and I swear I heard a hint of amusement in it.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Yeah yeah, quiet now- I'm coming up to it."

The door was already flung open and a woman stood, shaking, calling the police or something.

"Please put down the phone, miss," I told her, putting my finger down on the switch.

"B-but…! This man…!"

"It's taken care of," I said as maturely as possible, despite the overwhelming need to tremble I felt. "Please just return to your room."

A Japanese woman stood on the other side of the room, watching me carefully, and 'Ryuzaki' lay, smoldering, in the corner. I walked over to him, softly touched his side – which awarded me a pained groan – and practiced the procedure L had taught me to figure something out. I had been told how to do it, not what it was used for. I wrote it down on the small paper I'd been given, and turned to the Japanese woman.

"Naomi Misora…?" I asked.

She nodded suspiciously, and I bowed my head a bit, embarassed. "I am K, sent by L to thank you personally. I understand that you've been assisting L, correct?"

"Um, yes… You've been sent by L… to thank me? Why not just tell me on the phone?"

"I was asked to give you this," I said, handing her a cell phone. "You're to use this to call L whenever you've found something odd or are in trouble."

The moment she finally took and put away the phone, paramedics stormed in and I snuck out in the middle of the insanity.

Holy _**crap**_ - that smelled bad…

As I walked down the hall I spoke in whispers to myself: "Man, can't wait to get home. I'm gonna totally jump Mello and then we're going to go throw things at the little kids andthenwe'- AAH!" I jumped as L's voice interrupted me.

"Thank you for helping me, Koree. You said that you do not wish to be the top person at Wammy's House?"

"Well… I may be considered the smartest... But I think fourth is a better place. Did you know that in most of Asia there's massive tetraphobia? That's why I like fourth. I wouldn't want to take the spotlight from Near, Matt or Mello."

"Well, I guess as long as you've achieved most of your goals, you can do whatever you'd like?"

"Seems like you do, huh?"

"Ah-ha-ha-ha," he replied sarcastically. "Well what are you going to say when you go back to Wammy's House?"

"I'll… tell Mello the truth… and maybe Near… possibly Matt, but to the others, I'll say that I got to go to… uh… Disneyworld!"

I swear I could hear him smile; "So who are these boys? The top 3, correct?"

"Yes… but of course, you'd know, wouldn't you?"

"Hmm, I guess so…"

I found myself back outside and in front of the black limo. I swung open the door and jumped in. "I don't know if I wanna go back home…"

"Why not?"

"I like it here with you. I mean I miss Mello and Matt, but…."

"If they were here, it'd be perfect?" L suggested.

"Yeah…"

"Well… you can visit whenever you'd like. I think I can trust you – but you won't be able to bring Matt or Mello…"

"Really…?! Oh, thank you!" I yelled, and actually hugged L, who sat next to me.

* * *

_Koree,_

_How is being number 4?_

**Ryuzaki,**

**It's great! I've been watching lots of scary movies and stuff with M&M…**

M&M was what "Ryuzaki" and I called Mello and Matt… they were now small chocolate circles covered in multicoloured candy…

_Sounds fun. You've heard of this new 'Kira' case, haven't you?_

**Mm, yes, I have. Quite scary sounding… How're you going to catch him?**

_I'm not sure… Have any ideas?_

**Well you said he's Japanese, right? Well… you could put up some jail guy up for death, and put him on TV 'between the hours of 4 and 6' and … well you said he killed a guy in Yokohama, didn't you? Wellllllll……. Yeah……**

_Thank you, Koree. I'll try that._

**Don't get hurt…**

_I'll try not to... Do you still wish to go to Disneyworld?_

**Yeah!**

**

* * *

  
**

I always had considered L a friend after that. He would IM me whenever he was working on the Kira case but not talking to the police - which, unfortunately, wasn't as often as I'd wished - and written letters to me and texted me as often as he could.

"What is that?"

"A letter," I murmured, trying to avoid sounding like a smart-ass.

"From who?" Mello asked, lifting his head from the bed where he lay. I sat on the floor, grinning over my new possession.

"Just a friend I met a few weeks ago."

"But you weren't here a few weeks ago."

"I know..."

I opened it slowly, ignoring Mello.

_Koree,_

_ I understand your predicament. While I don't base much of my time on social relationships anymore, I was a teenager, too. Then again, I didn't have to worry about helping with the biggest murder case on the planet while thinking about a crush. All I can say, in truth, is follow this boy. He sounds like he'll be a handful, but you two sound very close. I suspect that, should I die, he may become overwhelmed and do something stupid. _

_ Now, what were you saying about seeing peoples' names? Is it some form of the seeing of peoples' auras? I'm not sure I believe in that sort of thing, but, I suppose that anything is possible. Please, keep me updated on this. _

_ About the Kira case, do you have any more ideas? The television plan worked perfectly - I now know that he is a student in the area you predicted. I must say, you have been an incredible help lately - I've been unbecomingly distracted with other cases that I've been finishing. Everything's been getting very complicated, these days._

_ ~L_

As I read, I realized that Mello was no longer in my peripheral vision. "You got a letter from _L_?!" Mello yelled from behind me.

"What?! Mello! Don't read over my shoulder! Don't you have any manners?" I shouted back, standing up from the floor and hiding the letter behind my back as I turned to face him.

"You talk to L about _personal_ shit? Who do you like that L knows about? And what the fuck is the 'seeing peoples' names?'" Mello questioned unforgivingly.

"Mello, you know..."

"Where _were_ you when you left, Koree?"

"I helped L on a case of his. He wanted to train a kid from the House and we just kind of... I don't know, I guess we connected. He's very interesting to talk to..." I looked down, abashed of my secret.

"But... why _you_? I mean, no offence," he added quickly after receiving a harsh glare; "I just mean, why does he only talk to one person in the house?"

"Mello... Look, I don't mean any offence by _this_..." I set the letter down onto Mello's bed, keeping my eyes from his; "You're not _actually_ second in the house."

"You are?"

"Well... kind of. Near is second."

Mello was quiet for a moment; "Well that's... at least it's not Near, I guess... What was that about the names?"

"I... don't know. Neither does L. I can sometimes see people's names... over their heads, and a bunch of numbers. I don't know what they mean, but... they're there."

He was quiet again, then looked up slowly. "Who do you like?"

_You_...

"L is the only one who'll ever know," I muttered, walking past him and towards my own room. As I left, I added softly; "By the way, L is taking me to Disneyworld next week."


	6. Black Japan

**Author's Note:** Wazzaaaaa! That's right! The first original content of mine in _years_! And I've even kept it to my 2,000-word minimum!

And, yes, there _is_ a super-uber-detailed background story that this chapter only _touches_ on! There's lots of confusing stuff, especially towards the end, all of which _will_ be explained... at a later time. Thank you for your patience - your business is valuable to us.

Also, you'll notice - if I like a character, I'll defy the laws of existence to _KEEP THEM ALIVE._

Except L. Poor L. D:

~~ LaLa-chan

* * *

_Back in the US, I lived with my dad and brother, David. Mom had 'left' a long time ago. She was in a car crash that killed her, but I was saved via C-section. Apparently she was on her way to a church or something..._

"Pl_ea_se, Matt - I promise I won't talk!" Matt laughed.

"Oh, please, Koree - you _never_ stop talking." He grinned me and I stuck my tongue out. Mello sat on a beanbag beside Matt's bed as I begged them to let me watch a scary movie with them. Matt had gotten the movie for his birthday just the day before and Mello was the only other person in the house that was allowed to watch it - besides me, if he'd just say _yes_.

"Come on! I'll do _any_thing!"

Matt stared at me thoughtfully before answering; "If I let you watch it with us, you owe me one favor - and it has to be _anything_ I want."

"Sure!" I answered rashly, ignoring the bad feeling it caused momentarily.

_David had to watch me one day - I can still remember the sky outside; blue as a chicory flower, spotted with thin, snow-white clouds. The sun lit up our house, especially the front room, where David and I sat, doing his homework. He had algebra, I think. A breeze occasionally blew in, refreshing my lungs with a sweet chill, forcing the edges of David's papers to flutter wildly._

_I leaned forward from where I sat, setting my hands onto David's cheeks. He stared at me, laughter in his eyes. I moved my hands to smash his face, laughing as he began to make faces along with my playing. I was about three at the time, but I still remember David's laughter ringing through the house in unison with the wind chimes that hung outside the window._

Matt slid the DVD player closed and sat on the beanbag that Mello had just recently vacated, instead sitting near me on the bed.

_"Oh, Dad's home. Want to go greet him, Koree?" _

_"Yeah!" I clapped my hands together, jumping up and grabbing David's hand to follow him outside. David suddenly lost all amusement in his eyes as he heard something I couldn't. His eyes widened and I was scooped up and taken to my room before I could even hear Dad's truck door close._

_David locked the door of my room and shoved himself and me into the closet, shutting the door as silently as he could manage._

_All I remember in the closet was the sudden loss of the glimmering silver of the wind chimes, the lack of blue sky, and the labored, frightened breathing of my older brother as he held me tightly against him. _

_The front door slammed against the wall of the front hall, making me jump. David held me tighter and I soon felt warm tears soak into my hair; I began to shake. _

The movie started dark; I couldn't help but squint my eyes and tense my body to ready myself for the impending surprise.

_The closet was dark; I couldn't help but squint my eyes and tense my body to ready myself for... whatever would happen._

A shot rang out from the speakers and I jumped. I heard Mello barely stifle a laugh. I stared at the screen intently, feeling a pang of regret that I'd convinced Matt to allow me to watch it. My lips parted as my mind reeled, disbelief drowning out rational thought; the man in the movie went from room to room of his home, shooting his family members, whether they slept, hid, cried, or even showered.

I breathed in slowly, my stomach twisting, my muscles constricting. I felt myself begin to shake.

_"Why are you holding me so tight, David?" I whispered. A gun shot, a sound I was, until that moment, unfamiliar with, shattered the previous silence of the house._

_"Koree, if you hold something innocent when you die, you'll be safe in the afterlife." I could hear a remorseful smile in his voice as he shook from the sobs he held in._

_"Die?" I murmured anxiously; "Why would you-"_

_The door swung open. _

"Koree, are you okay?" Mello's hand touched my shoulder and I jumped.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just-" I stopped, looking down. Matt had paused the movie and I felt overwhelmingly guilty that I'd stopped their movie just because I was having some fucking PTSD moment. "Can I, you know, just sit closer to someone? I'll be okay, probably."

"Sure, whatever," Mello agreed half-heartedly as the movie resumed.

By the end, the dog was dead and I was paralyzed by the adrenaline that had frozen in my veins as I supressed my fear. Mello and Matt were satisfied, and I shakily agreed, sending myself off to bed. As I exited Matt's room, I found Near sitting beside the door, staring at the floor.

"Near? What're you doing?" I raised an eyebrow, proud that I was able to act mature around the kid, at least.

"I was... just curious about the movie. Everyone seemed to think it was going to be... good." His voice shook and his hand twitched as he played with his hair.

"Oh, damn - you didn't _really_ just watch that, did you?" He nodded, looking away timidly. I sighed and invited him to my room - maybe we could just be scared together...

* * *

_"Matt!" I cried out, crashing into the tall gamer that had just exited the walkway from the airplane. Mello had invited Matt out to help us, and I nearly shit myself when he agreed. Matt hugged me back tightly._

_**"Okay, Koree - you're going with Matt."**_

_**"W-what? I thought I was going to help you!" I objected, staring at Mello is confusion.**_

_**"Aw, come on, Koree - I'm not **_**that**_** bad," Matt told me, laughing. I looked between his laughing face and Mello's serious one, and gave in.**_

_"Matt, I'll probably die if this shit doesn't work out. Just... take care of Koree, okay?"_

_"Sure, man... Have you guys, you know, gotten together yet?"_

_Mello scoffed; "Hell no. Koree's been... I don't know - she doesn't seem to be like she was in Wammy's. I mean, I still... I don't know, I guess you could call it love or something; but every time I start to say something about it, she says something bad is going to happen." Matt watched his friend; "And it usually does." Mello turned away from the window he stared out of as he loaded his gun and pockets with ammunition. "If she says anything, listen to her. Believe me." Matt nodded and looked back across the hotel room at Koree as she slept silently._

_"Mello, this is... well he's you, for the time being. He's gotten his name changed to Mihael Keel - your name without the 'h.'" I told Mello as I slid on my gloves. L had told me all resources were available to me after his death - this was no exception. Beyond Birthday - BB, for short - had been broken, somehow. I'd taken him for his death sentence and gotten plastic surgery and a legal name change. For all intensive purposes, there were two Mellos, and, by the end of the day, one would die. "Do you understand the plan?" _

_There was no room for leaders anymore - we knew the plan, and, should it work, we would all survive - if it didn't, none of us would._

"Fuck, Matt! Drive fucking _faster_!" I screamed. The police were on our asses and Matt was speeding down the streets, drifting corners, and forcing me to pray to the King that we didn't die.

"No worries, Koree! We'll get out of this and you'll get your Mello back!" he replied, laughing as I smacked his shoulder softly, fearful that if I hit him too hard, his driving would send us into a building.

_"Koree, I found this at the House - Roger said it was yours." I stared in disbelief at the jacket Matt handed me. It still fit, surprisingly; it had been David's. _

_A white cross lay peacefully on either side of my face on the collar of the jacket, forcing the flood of memories to hit me._

_Soft whispers of spring in the last snow; long nights spent laying in the wet grass, stars littering the black sky above us; the caress of the summer breeze creeping through my window to touch my face as I slept; and the sound of crunching leaves as we made our way through unknown streets, knowing we'd somehow make our way back._

_"Hey, don't cry, Kore - what's wrong?"_

_"I miss being a kid..."_

"Mello better do his fucking job right if that's what you mean. I swear to god - if I have to tell Near that Mello fucked up, he'll haunt me till I die."

Matt laughed again; he was always the one smiling in the end, whether it was appropriate or not. A needle hidden within my jacket's sleeve poked my finger, reminding me of _my_ job. Too many fucking secrets would be known by the end of the day; all for that blond fucker.

_Shit. I knew it._ Matt cursed outwardly as we realized the flaw in our plans. A line of police cars appeared over the horizon of the street; the city lights glinted off the windshields and the men glared from behind them.

I squinted just enough to make out about half of their names and began cutting into my theigh with the needle; John Himamura, Takamuro Shima, Teru Li - all names pulling blood from my body as they were sliced into my skin. Matt was distracted from my act as his mind most likely raced to figure a way out.

I stopped suddenly as I felt overwhelming nausea; Matt's name had been written into Kira's notebook. I wrote the names faster as more appeared, frantic in my work as my mind attempted to work out how to save Matt.

_Fuck, what rule was it? I know there was one... that said that if another person's life was put in jeapordy, the writing of the person's name was nullified. What, am I supposed to fucking cling to Matt so they don't shoot?_

Of the line of officers, half turned their guns onto themselves, sending a bleeding mess onto their cars' hoods. The other half, however, had their faces covered. They must have expected this.

Suddenly, Matt hit the brakes and the car went spinning, momentarily preventing the writing of names into my leg. "Jeez, how many bodyguards does one woman _need_, anyway?" Matt mused, leaning forward and resting his head his arms. Matt glanced over at me as he heard no response; "Shit! What the fuck are you doing, Koree!?" I ignored him, and continued to write names as soon as a headlight flashed someone's face or a person momentarily lifted their helmet's visor.

The remaining police men raised their guns like fucking zombies - Kira's minions at work. Matt decided to step out of the car, hands raised. My head shot up as I realized what he was doing. "Hey, come on! Give me a break! Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry around such big guns?" Matt was smiling again; fucker thought he could get out of this one, too. I kept scraping into my theigh, hoping I could get them all before they started shooting. "You got me - I'm part of this whole kidnapping incident-"

I cut Matt's speech short as I lunged over the driver's seat and grabbed him by the jacket, pulling him back into the car. I slammed the door shut just as soon as bullets pummeled the car. "Fuck!" Matt yelled, covering his head as I did, hiding beneath the dashboard from the rain of metal. Glass from the windows showered over us, and soon Matt slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, sending us flying forward, both of our heads still down.

_Fucking slow-working Death Note..._ I thought, thanking the King that the guns finally stopped shooting as their owners fell to the ground from heartattacks.


	7. Mahogany Yokohama

**Author's Note**: Well heeeellooo! Finally finished this damned chapter. -.- Very DRAMATIC. I think part 8 will be a layout of Koree's plan - it's a little hard to follow when I'm so vague. :P Also, the reading of the BB LA Murder Case (or whatever it's named) would be helpful to knowing about Beyond Birthday, but it's well enough either way...

* * *

"Beyond..." His eyebrow twitched and he wriggled around for a moment before looking up. "Hey, Beyond. How is everything?"

"Very... dreadful." Half of his mouth moved into a wide grin. His skin was a deep mahogany and the remnants of his hair lay in odd patches on his head. Somehow, I could still see the likeness of L in him, but it all faded as soon as the animalistic sound of pained laughter fell from his scarred lips.

"Stop that, Beyond. Here, now - I have a proposition for you." He cocked his head and put both hands on the table. Evidence of recent self-mutilation shown from his arms. I mirrored him, setting my hands on the table between us, hoping he'd see my compelte deprivation of protection, should he decide to attack me.

"Oh, yes?" He bore his teeth, biting down on the tip of his tongue harshly.

"Yes... I know how you may still beat L, and you can get your wish to die as well. Isn't that what you want the most?"

His face fell into an expression of suspicion; "And just how would _you_ achieve this...?" He seemed to search for my name.

"K; my name is K." He blinked his eyes twice.

* * *

"Alright, M. Are you and K out of danger?"

**"Not yet. We got some sons of bitches on our asses. Don't worry - we'll get out of this."**

"Fine; you had better."

**"Same for you..."**

I turned to Takada, who stood against the wall, recoiling from the presence of myself and _B_, the guy Koree had convinced to help us. "Take off everything you're wearing and put it in that box," I demanded, my voice muffled by the motorcycle helmet. B grinned widely, his fingers lacing together into a tangled web. Suddenly, his face fell and he dropped his hands, deciding, instead, to crouch down and hold onto his ankles.

"You're... asking me to get naked... right here?"

"That's right. You've got a tracer that'll alert the bodyguards to your whereabouts, don't you? They're going to come after me if I don't get rid of that. This delivery company has a shipping office close by, so I'll toss the box in there," I explained, watching Takada closely. B stood, handing the blanket Koree had provided to her. She took it hesitantly, uneased by the way B stared, unblinking, at her. "Mihael," I ordered, "make sure she puts _everything_ in the box."

The perks of being an heir of L was the uncommon amount of wealth behind us - especially Koree. She had taken B to some underground plastic surgeon and got half of his face reconstructed to look like mine. Honestly, if it weren't for the way he trembled and how wide his eyes would get, we'd be identical. Of course, there was one _minor_ physical difference. B's scarred flesh covered from under the blond wig, past his nose - a lot further than mine. Therefore, when Takada writes _my_ name, the face in her mind will be false. It was a stretch, but, honestly, nowadays, I only lived for very small purposes - to beat Near, to become L, and to keep Koree safe - so Koree's assumptions would always have me agreeing.

I stepped out from the truck and contacted Matt again. "M?" There was silence from the other end. My heart raced and I shut my eyes to keep from losing my cool. "_M._ Are you there?"

"**M-Mello**!"

"Koree? What- I mean, K. Why do you have the microphone? Where's Matt?"

"**Matt's fine... I guess. I'll have to get back to you!"**

"Wait! K? K?!" I growled into the microphone and slid my hand under the motorcycle helmet to hold it closer to my mouth. "_Koree_!" I looked up at the sky and had to restrain from tearing the microphone from my ear and crushing it into the ground. "_Fuck!_" I continued to murmer curses as I threw open the truck's door and grabbed the box from B's hands. I glanced at Takada and felt oddly pleased to find Koree's plan slowly coming to fruition. I tossed the box into the shipping office's open loading floor and waved B off as he moved to lock the door and into the driver's seat of the truck.

As I watched the truck move away, I sighed and attempted to contact Matt or Koree again. "Koree? Matt? What's happened?"

* * *

"Matt!" I screamed. The car swerved, forcing Matt to raise his head and grab the wheel. He drifted us through an intersection and we were soon heading south. No shots could be heard, but there was still the shouting from Kira followers and Takada fans in their cars behind us.

Something buzzed from Matt's ear and he snarled audibly, ripping the microphone from his ear to throw it to the floor of the passenger's seat. I picked it up and held it to my ear, thankful to hear Mello's voice. "_**M**_**. Are you there**?"

"M-Mello!" I grinned, ignoring the high speeds we were reaching and the occasional jerks the car gave as other bumpers hit our own.

"**Koree? What - I mean, K. Why do you have the microphone? Where's Matt?"** I glanced at the aforementioned boy, who was nearly chewing the butt of his dead cigarette in anxiety. The car lurched again.

"Matt's fine... I guess. I'll have to get back to you!" I winced in regret as I replaced the microphone on the floor and held tightly to the fabric of my car seat. Matt drifted again, the tires screeching wildly as we came to face the east. We were finally heading towards where we were supposed to meet Mello, but the Freaks were still on our asses.

I shoved myself out of my seat and into the back, where the rear window had been mostly shot out. The case beside me was opened and the gun within was pulled out, the scope placed by my eye as I stared into the face of an angry Follower. I pulled the trigger and continued to the next car, leaving the passengers to their ill-conceived fates.

"Koree," Matt called, signalling me to sit back in the seat and hold the gun close to me. The car swerved again and I saw through the window the faces of several dozen Followers. I moved forward and grabbed the microphone from the floor, craving Mello's voice - in case I should die at the hands of these Freaks.

"Mello?"

"**Fuck! Finally! What the fuck is going on?**"

"We're just having some trouble with Kira followers. Don't wo-"

"**Don't you dare tell me to not worry. How in the hell could I **_**not**_** worry when I'm hearing goddamned gunshots?**" I smiled as I moved back to target Followers' faces.

"What, Mel? You worried about your little Koree?" I grimaced as a woman's forehead was hit, sending her flying backward into the mob.

"**What are you shooting with? How many are there?**"

"Well, Mello - if I was to count, I wouldn't be able to keep them off us. That's how many."

* * *

_It was snowing that day. The sun hid smugly behind the grey clouds, the wind occasionally sending cold flakes into my eyes. I held a man's hand as I was led up the slippery path, onto the porch of the orphanage. "Koree, right?" I nodded, my sight stuck on a long fissure in the wood of the porch. "Hey, you'll like it here - I promise. There's a lot of kids here who I think you can make good friends with." I nodded again._

_**If I were to judge completely by appearance, I would have thought Koree was the kind of kid who liked tying fireworks to cats' paws. She wore a sleeveless leather jacket with large white crosses on either side of her face, in something of an ironic juxtaposition with her clenched fists and stiff posture. I'd been trying to watch Matt play his video game again when she was brought in by Harry, one of the social service workers. **_

_**She had the clich**__**éd look of an orphan - cheeks shining from tears, arms crossed, eyes downcast. She walked fairly quickly from the front room and I simply went back to watching Matt's game without giving her another thought. **_

_**However, the next day when Matt and I decided to find Darryll - a kid who owed me - we instead found the girl with Darryll's collar bunched up in one fist, the other hovering near her face as she got ready to strike him. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing?" I called. Her head turned quickly as if we'd surprised her. **_

_**"I'm beating a kid up. What in the hell does it look like, genius?"**_

_**Matt snickered beside me and I elbowed him in the stomach. "He's mine to beat up."**_

_**"Why?" She turned to face me completely, dropping Darryll, who sat like a dumbass to watch. "You got some weird, sadistic thing with him?"**_

_**My lip twitched in disgust at the idea; "He owes me shit! Why are **_**you**_** beating him up?"**_

_**She furrowed her brow and looked down slowly, as if confused. "I don't know. He was annoying, so I was going to punch him." I smirked and glanced at Matt, who was gingerly rubbing his abdomen, ignoring the situation. "You want some chocolate?" I was distracted suddenly from Matt as she held a bar of chocolate out to me. "Roger let me have some." Chocolate...?**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_"So-re... wa..." I made a face, slamming my hand down onto my desk. "SoRAY wa... Verdammt es!" In one swoop of my hand, my Japanese book and all accompanying papers were thrown to the floor. I couldn't pay attention worth a crap - I could barely remember what day it was - fuck _Japanese.

_I sighed loudly, running my hands through my hair. Maybe Mello was doing something interesting. I shook my head; no, he was probably just zoning off, watching Matt play Kingdom Hearts... again. I stood anyway and made my way to his room to find him, instead, hunched over his desk, his back to me. I walked up slowly, making sure to be __**absolutely**__ silent before I put my mouth next to his ear. "__**Mas-tur-bation.**__" _

_Mello jumped and spun around, sending me backwards in laughter. "Koree! Shit - wait what?"_

_"I said 'Masturbation.'"_

_He grimaced. "Uh - durr. Thanks. What do you want?" He turned back to his desk._

_"What're you doing?"_

_"I'm drawing." I looked over his shoulder in curiousity. _

_"I didn't know you could draw, Mells! Can I see?"_

_"First, don't call me 'Mells.' And second, no."_

_"What?! Why?" I yelled, taken aback by his rejection._

_"Because I'm not done."_

_"When you're done, can I see?" He sighed, but I could see him smile._

_

* * *

  
_

"Koree, shoot the smoke," Matt ordered, tossing his gun back to me. I shot, smoke exploding into the faces of the remaining mob. All cars had been desposed of, so Matt seemed to have his own idea of getting rid of the rest of them. As the mob was slowed, Matt spun us around furiously, sending us into a complete 180, and throwing me against the car door. He floored it, and we were sent into the smoke.

Several bodies were slammed into the car as we flew by. Once we were free of the smoke and crowd, Matt turned again, now onto the street just after the intersection we'd been cornered at. I stayed shoved between the car door and back seat, praying we'd get out and I could... eat some of Mello's fucking chocolate.

I crounched down to the ground, still murmuring into the microphone on my ear. "Koree... Matt... Anyone there?" All I was answered with was the occasional sound of a car going over a speed bump. "Koree... Hello?"

My eyes widened and I looked up as I heard the sound of a car speeding towards me. Matt, always the dramatic one, drifted sideways, shoving open the passenger door. "Where's Koree?"

"Here and accounted for!" she answered happily, waving her hand from the backseat.

"Did everything go well?" I asked sullenly, Koree's mood failing to pierce my own.

"Peachy. We just lost some windows and," Matt groaned, "my leg fuckin' hurts." I noticed Koree's face fall into an expression of seriousness.

"Are you okay, Matt?" she asked softly. Matt gripped his leg, nodding. I slid into the passenger seat beside him, watching as the cloth of his jeans turned black pressed against his skin. Koree continued, still gentle; "Did you give Beyond the necklace, Mello?"

"Yeah," I replied uncertainly. B_eyond_ had taken the necklace immediately and had regarded it with a kind of reverance before accepting it completely. Koree whispered her thanks as we drove away.

"Matt, is your leg okay?" Koree asked again as we exited the car. Matt was limping horribly and even had _me_ worrying.

"Yeah - it's okay Kores. Don't worry."

"She might be right, Matt - your jeans are bloody." At this, Koree looked as if I'd punched her in the face. She stepped back and covered her mouth.

"Did you get _shot_?" She said the word as if it were the bullet in Matt's leg.

"I don't know... probably. Look, I'll just go to the ER and get it out - no prob'."

"Go to the room, Koree. I'll take Matt to the hospital and we'll be back before you know it."

She stared at the key I'd just handed her; "But... you just got back."

* * *

_I'd fallen asleep on my homework again. As I threw the door open to go to breakfast, a paper fluttered from where it was pinned to my door. I tore it off and unfolded it to find Mello's drawing._

_It was me._


End file.
